Before It Breaks – Episode 6: Fit For Work
Fit For Work: The Safety Check We Never Perform
Every single day, community service and hospitality workplaces across the province follow strict of inspecting equipment, checking supplies, auditing procedures, and we double-check the personal protective equipment.
Yet, almost nobody checks the human operating them.
It’s not because leaders don’t care. It’s because most of us aren’t entirely sure how to check for “fit for work”.
For decades, the safety industry has reduced “fitness for duty” to a checklist: alcohol, drugs, and physical fatigue. But humans aren’t machines. What happens when an employee is grieving? Mentally exhausted? Emotionally flooded?
The most serious workplace tragedies don’t start with a mechanical failure. They begin with a human capacity failure long before an incident occurs.
True fitness for work is fluid, and it goes far beyond physical health. In Episode 6 of Before It Breaks podcast, CEO Carrie Bjola redefines “Fit for Work”.
We need to stop asking only “Can they do the job?” and start asking: “Do they still have enough left after work to live their life?”
A Note of Relief for Leaders
If you are a supervisor or manager, assessing whether an employee is fit for work shouldn’t make you anxious. You are not expected to DIAGNOSE what is wrong.
Your job is to NOTICE change.
When you see it, move toward that person, not away. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers – it’s just being willing to start the conversation.
True safety lives where leader care, employee awareness, and organizational support meet. The greatest successes in safety are the tragedies that never happen – the moments where a worker goes home safely because a leader noticed and cared enough to act.
In this episode we explore how capacity drains throughout a shift and practical tools like the Supervisor’s Fit for Duty Decision Tree protect you and your team.
👉 [Click here to watch/listen to Episode 6 of Before It Breaks now.]
Before It Breaks will return with a brand new episode this September. Have a safe and well summer!
